300215 Globalisation and Migration: A Comparison of the European and North American Migration System (S) (SoSe 2017)

Globalisation and migration represent a linkage that can be approached from very different analytical angles. For instance, globalisation might lead to social transformations and can consequently be addressed as drivers of migration. Likewise, certain conditions related to globalisation can result in the need for certain migrant categories in destination countries. As a consequence, migration processes can be importantly steered and structured by these requirements. Moreover, globalisation can be focused as an output of large-scale migration, meaning that international migration can represents an expression of ongoing processes of transformation. Next to these different analytical approaches to the link between globalisation and migration, also regional difference matter which means that drivers, processes and consequences can differ in distinct migration systems.
The objective in the seminar is to provide a comprehensive theoretical and empirical overview of the link between globalisation and migration and compare studies that focus on this relationship in different world regions. In line with this objective, the seminar is divided into three main parts:
In the first part, the seminar is dedicated to central concepts, theoretical and methodological approaches in migration studies and represents a useful preparatory work. In the second section, central empirical studies from Europe and North America on causes, processes and consequences of migration are discussed. In the final part, the retrieved findings of these European and North American contributions will be classified and compared with each other in order to find out what the main convergences and divergences are.